Cold Cereal
by 14InAHeart
Summary: A continuation of Chocolate Cake. The morning after an awkward incident involving chocolate cake and a silver ring, Matthew tries to prove that a proposal doesn't have to be spectacular to be perfect. PruCan, shounen-ai, fluff. Human AU. Two-shot.
1. Chapter 1

He lied on his bed with a blank expression on his face. He followed the patterns on the textured ceiling with his now overly dry eyes, tired from nothing but his staring off into nothing. In his mind sat a new, foreign struggle. He had said yes. As Matthew Williams replayed the events of the night before over in his head, he kept hearing that "yes" escape Gilbert's lips.

_"Maple Pie?"_

_"Ja?"_

_"Do you usually order jewelry in your desserts?"_

_"Yes! Yes, I do!"_

Matthew was no fool. He recalled how Gilbert had gone on to rave about how he deserved precious metals and gems in his food for the simple fact that he was himself, but the words were fading, slipping from Matthew's mind. He knew that however big his boyfriend's ego was, he'd still be too lazy to ask for special jeweled cakes every time he ate out. Plus, who would give it to him?

What got to Matthew was the nervousness that Gilbert had shown, both throughout the evening and at that moment. He recalled how rushed his reply had been, and with each replay of the scene, Gilbert seemed to be in a greater rush, fast forwarding through his speech, promising to pay for the food, silver and all, snatching the cake-covered ring, and finally scurrying out of the scene. And Matthew wasn't even angry that he had to pay or that he had to walk out of the restaurant and back to the car alone. He wasn't even sure what he felt, but it wasn't pleasant, and it was because he had known that Gilbert was up to something. He had even known exactly what Gilbert was up to. He had known too soon, and that, he told himself repeatedly, was his mistake.

He was the one who was supposed to say yes, not Gilbert, and Gilbert had said it to the wrong question.

Matthew rolled over on his blanket, sprawled across the bed, and let his face fall onto Gilbert's pillow. Well, technically, it was Matthew's pillow, but once Gilbert had claimed something, there was rarely ever a chance of getting it back. He sighed, looking up at the doorway. Gilbert had stayed the night before. He was probably downstairs, just waiting for breakfast. Or, that's what Matthew was hoping. Hoping that he didn't only stay because it was so late when they had returned home. Just praying that he didn't leave as soon as he had gotten the chance.

He sleepily rolled his eyes back to the pillow, intending to close them and rest a moment more, but caught a glimpse of blue fabric piled onto the floor. Reaching over the edge of the mattress, Matthew ran his fingers along the seam of the jacket. His hand caught in the pocket as he reached for the object hiding in its folds.

He held it up in the light of his bedside lamp. It was a small box, soft with its red, velvet covering. He pried at the end opposite the hinge, and the box snapped open easily to reveal a white, silky interior that reflected in the silver ring nestled in its place. With a pang of guilt, Matthew couldn't help his curiosity as he pulled the ring out and held it closer to the light.

The silver shone brightly yet not in the blinding way that a brand new engagement ring would be. It must have been older. He ran a finger along the inside edge, noting that there were words engraved there. He squinted to read them. The letters were tiny, in a fancy print that seemed intricately carved by hand. However, he simply could not read them no matter what angle he held the ring at. What he could see was the tiny smudge of chocolate icing in the corner.

Satisfied with his findings, Matthew silently put the ring back in its place, closed the box, and returned it to the pocket. Since he had first caught a glimpse of it, it had been much more than a piece of jewelry to him, yet now he had seen it for the first time. Despite that he had never worn the ring or even had it presented to him properly, it was still in his home, next to his bed. It could be assumed it had been there all night, and that brought a newfound comfort to Matthew. He pulled himself up off the mess of a blanket then again off the bed, picking up Gilbert's crumpled jacket from the floor and tossing it onto the bed in the process.

With a quiet yawn, Matthew snatched his glasses from the table. He was up and out of the room in no time, eager to find Gilbert waiting downstairs. He'd known he just had to be waiting downstairs. Bare feet slapped against the aged wooden stairs, the floor creaking as he made his way down then around the corner.

Surely enough, Matthew caught a glimpse of light hair, standing out against dark clothes and the dark couch, as Gilbert sat up from his slouching posture. He was there, just as Matthew had hoped, and Matthew couldn't help but feel a fluttering in his chest when he saw the overly excited grin aimed in his direction.

"Good morning!"

"Good morning."

"What's for breakfast?"

Matthew chuckled inwardly at the question. Gilbert's eyes shone, begging, and Matthew could just imagine him begging, "Pancakes and maple bacon! Pancakes and maple bacon!"

"Cold cereal. Cold cereal is for breakfast." he replied


	2. Chapter 2

Gilbert tapped his fingernails rapidly against the granite countertop. He was extraordinarily hyper that morning, and Matthew couldn't tell if it was the giddiness from proposing the night before or if he was over-doing his acting skills and hiding some down feeling or broken-hearted thought. There was a good chance it was both.

"Life or Go Lean?" Matthew murmured and raised his hand up. He swung the weathered cabinet door open with a sorrowful creak. Gilbert was silent, his eyes gazing towards his almost-fianc , and Matthew couldn't help but give a tiny glance back in his direction. It was the least he could do.

And then there they were, red eyes that shone at him the hues of strawberry jam, reminding him of just how cruel his breakfast choice was and of how he knew Gilbert would at least prefer toast and jam to cereal.

"Cereal is a nice breakfast." Matthew replied to him, that slight defensive tone creeping into his voice.

"What? I didn't say it wasn't!"

Matthew shook his head. They were both being childish, but it confused him as to why. The events of the night before were truly shaking, life changing even. Of course, deciding to marry someone, to call them your spouse, to promise eternal faithfulness to that one person who you knew you were truly in love with was life-changing, but that didn't even happen. However, the both of them were now fully aware of that option, yet no one had said "yes."

It was then that Matthew realized that no one had said "no" either.

Gilbert tilted his head with forced smile and started to respond to Matthew's question, whining, "Lovebird! Those are la-" but he cut himself off. Matthew was already reaching into the depths of the cabinet, stretching desperately and on tip-toe. When finally he produced a more colourful box from the top shelf Gilbert nearly jumped.

"Captain Crunch!" he shrieked joyously.

"Yes, yes, Captain Crunch," Matthew laughed softly, "Now go sit down, and let me fix it for you."

"Yes, sir!" Gilbert saluted him and skipped off the few feet to the little table.

Matthew made sure he was gone before he dared to take his hand off the corner of the box. He set it gently on the counter and read, "FREE PRIZE INSIDE!" and skimmed over the faded images of superhero-themed toys with a defiant smile. He ripped the cardboard at the top carelessly and tore open the plastic too. A sneaky glance over his shoulder told him that Gilbert wasn't watching closely, and it didn't take too much digging through the crumbly cereal for him to find the prize: a ring, perfectly fashioned out of cheap, blue plastic, contained within its own little protective plastic bag.

Matthew slipped the ring into his pocket as he poured two bowls of their breakfast, making sure to be a little generous with Gilbert's bowl but not obviously so.

Gilbert, who had entertained himself with fiddling with his fingers and twiddling his thumbs, flinched and snapped his vision up with the jarring clank.

"Daydreaming there?" Matthew slid the nearly overflowing bowl closer to him.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah." Gilbert mumbled nervously and brought a hand up to swiftly grab the spoon. The sooner he ate, the less talking he would have to do.

Matthew chuckled as Gilbert shoved a spoonful of the cereal down, trickling milk over his shirt. He didn't take his seat or eat any of his cereal, but he stood where he was, and Gilbert hesitantly looked up at him again.

"What?"

"I... I, uh." Matthew started, shuffling his feet. "I need to ask you something."

Gilbert sighed in dread, wiping the milk off his face with his forearm. It had to have been about the night before, and Gilbert knew he just wasn't ready to face the interrogation. He had been blaming himself, chastising himself over how he had screwed everything up. Now it wasn't just the proposal the was screwed up, his whole life with Matthew was about to be put on the line. It didn't help that the cereal was so stale.

Matthew gripped the edge of the table, his nails digging into the wood and his knuckles turning white, before he lowered himself down to kneel before Gilbert on a shaky knee.

"Whoa, are you alright?" Gilbert raised his voice slightly in concern. Matthew seemed to sway a tiny bit, and Gilbert's hand raced to his shoulder to steady him.

"Yeah. I'm alright." Matthew managed to say, and breathed deeply to calm himself.

Sure, the question Matthew had in mind made him genuinely nervous. He wasn't faking that, but his nervousness didn't quite affect him so extremely as it seemed to Gilbert. Half of it was an act. Matthew wanted to screw up. Keeping a firm grasp on the table, he reached his other hand into his pocket and brought out the ring.

"What... What is this?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow. The situation was terrifyingly familiar, he knew, but something was quite off.

"It's a ring."

"A ring?"

"Y-yes, see?" Matthew held it up closer for Gilbert to see. He hadn't even bothered to take the plastic covering off.

"Look." Matthew continued, "It's a Superman ring. It lights up." He demonstrated by pushing a button. With a tiny click, red light filtered through the thin, transparent layer of plastic, scattering.

"Oh, awesome!" Gilbert's eyes lit up along with the toy, and a giddy grin slowly crept onto his face. "But" he went on, a bit seriously, "What is this all about? Are you making fun of me?"

"No!" Matthew shook his head, hopefully grabbing Gilbert's hand tight, "I want you to understand! Is this cute?"

"What?"

"I'm proposing to you with a Superman ring! Is that cute!?"

"Yes, of course it is! It's precious!"

"And so was yours. Bert, I'm going to love you no matter what, and your proposal was perfect; _you_ were the one proposing."

Matthew paused a moment to make sure he didn't interrupt anything Gilbert had to say, but he didn't say a word.

So he continued, "The proposal isn't what matters. It's the answer that matters."

Again, Gilbert had nothing to say.

"Gilbert Beilschmidt, will you marry me?"

"I'm going to answer that later."

"What?" Matthew let out the breath he had been holding in a defeated sigh.

"I want you to take me to the playground at the park and ask me again with that same Superman ring so we can make out in front of the kids when I say yes."

"Okay."

The both of them smiled, hearts aflutter as Matthew snatched up the keys, and they ran out the door, leaving stale cereal to grow soggy on the kitchen table.

There wasn't a "no" in that answer.


End file.
